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The working photographer3 min read

LESSON 76

Pricing and licensing basics

Selling use, not just pictures.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. Read this first
  2. Licences, not sales
  3. How stock pricing developed
  4. In practice: setting your own price

Read this first

This lesson is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries, so check the rules where you live and work, and ask a qualified lawyer before you sign or rely on anything important. Prices below are only the broad ranges reported in the source, in US dollars, and they say nothing about what you should charge. Markets, currencies, taxes and customs differ widely by country and by client. This lesson explains the vocabulary of licensing so that you can read an offer and ask the right questions.

Licences, not sales

When photographers sell work to a client, they usually sell permission to use it, a licence, while keeping the copyright. Two models dominate stock photography. A rights-managed licence allows one specified use, such as a single book cover for a set time and region; further uses need further licences, and it can be exclusive or not. A royalty-free licence lets the buyer use the picture in many projects without paying again for each use. Royalty-free does not mean free: it is paid for once. The source notes that royalty-free licences cannot be exclusive.

How stock pricing developed

The stock photo industry began to grow in the 1920s. In the 1990s companies such as Photodisc sold CD-ROMs of pictures under royalty-free terms, at a time when rights-managed licensing was the norm, and between 1990 and the mid-2000s many agencies were bought up and merged, particularly by Corbis and Getty Images. Microstock followed, starting with iStockphoto in May 2000. The source reports that traditional agencies charge from several hundred to several thousand US dollars per image, while microstock may sell for around 25 US cents.

In practice: setting your own price

This section is working practice, not financial advice. Price the use, not only your time. Ask who will use the pictures, where, for how long, in which regions, and whether they need exclusivity; wider and longer use is worth more. Add your real costs: travel, assistants, gear, editing and insurance. Write a short quote that lists deliverables, the licence, the dates and the payment terms. Keep it simple enough that the client can read it in one minute. Raise prices as your work and demand grow, and keep a record of every job so your pricing rests on facts.

Try it today

  1. 01Write down three recent jobs or requests, and for each list who used the pictures, where and for how long.
  2. 02Read the licence terms of one royalty-free and one rights-managed agency.
  3. 03List your real costs for a typical half-day shoot.
  4. 04Draft a one-page quote that names the licence, uses, dates and deliverables.
  5. 05Ask a working photographer you trust to read it and point out what is missing.